The Khijovians arrive in Herwa

Drbeansguy

Today in herwa is a particularly good day, the seas look calm, the sky is without a cloud. In the city of Clarecomere people are in quite the good mood. Skimtari are in the streets are gathering at a stage to support their favorite candidates for the first general election, the minister of MoDa was even nice enough to come during the last stages of the election.

All was good in the small let busy capital of Herwa, that was until they noticed something floating in the big blue sky.

Balco

Above Clarecomere the sky was of a very sweet blue, and beautiful cirrus clouds stood out in vast translucent layers on the horizon. However, slowly, an imposing figure would begin to materialize in the distance, getting closer and closer to the capital and becoming more and more recognizable given its iconic appearance. A sinuous shape, an elegant lift, a stately gait, and a richness typical of the High West aesthetic: it was a Khijovian aethermotive. Its appearance aroused awe among the population, who witnessed the majestic airship so pleasantly soar overhead in the skies.

Baroness Cesaria Auguston of Chondia, the newest minister of foreign affairs, leaned over the railing at the bow and examined the landscape below. Then, upon seeing what appeared to be an urban center below her, she turned abruptly to the ship's trierarch and asked, trying not to sound too alarmed.

Cesaria Auguston: "Rodion, is this supposed to be Dzeia? "

Rodion Korivia, slightly perplexed: "Well… of course, Baroness."

Cesaria Auguston: "Are you absolutely sure of that?"

Rodion Korivia: "I would say so, my lady. What are you insinuating by that?"

Cesaria Auguston: "It's just that… I didn't remember Dzeia being like this from Periclon's tales. Weren't they nomadic, the Dze?"

Rodion Korivia: "I think so..?"

Cesaria Auguston: "...call the cartographer, please"

Rodion tacitly agreed with a nod of the head and went under the bridge towards the compartment of the quarters. He knocked on the door of the on-board cartographer's room, the young Vitren Savio, who immediately opened the door.

Vitren Savio: "Rodion, what is it?"

Rodion Korivia: "The Baroness wants you."

Vitren Savio: "How now? What does she want?"

Rodion Korivia: "I don't know, but she seems quite alarmed."

Vitren stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

Vitren Savio: "Eh, alarmed? And why, Rodion?"

Rodion Korivia: "I don't know, Vitren, I don't know…"

Vitren Savio: "We should have already arrived in Dzeia, right?"

Rodion Korivia: "In theory."

Vitren Savio: "Theoretically? What are you talking about, Rodion! Are you or not the one conducting this airship, eh?"

The two resurfaced on the deck.

Vitren Savio: "Baroness, my lady." greeted Vitren reverently.

Cesaria Auguston: "My boy, come here." Cesaria said with her back to them, intent on observing the landscape intensely while she leaned on the railing.

While Rodion went back to the bridge, Vitren headed forward and approached with a limp step alongside the baroness, coughing artificially to get her attention.

Cesaria Auguston: "Vitren, tell me, is this Dzeia?"

Vitren Savio: "Yes, yes, my lady."

Cesaria Auguston: "Which map did you adopt for air navigation?"

"I think… a Prestorian nautical chart." he said reticent.

The Baroness whirled around with glaring eyes, slightly startling the taken aback young cartographer.

Cesaria Auguston: "A nautical map of the Prestorians, you said?!"

Vitren Savio: "Um, correct…"

"A Prestorian map?!" repeated incredulous Cesaria, pervaded by a sudden fear.

"Y-yes, my lady. It was the only available nautical map of the Great Ocean that we could find," tried to explain Vitren.

"Oh, no…" said the baroness softly. "Rodion, go ashore. Now!" she then cried in shock.

Drbeansguy

As the flying contraption reaches land, they assembly a small crown of Herwians start to flock to the flying thing. Most noticeable of all a skimtari in an officers uniform surrounded by guards approach. She seems to be an authoritative figure in herwa, a minister of sorts.

The minister starts to speak up in pure skimtari: "Hey what are you doing up there, we don't have any authorized flights in Herwa until after the prime director elections. Im going to ask you land and tell us what you are doing"

Random air force guard: "Ma'am i dont mean to sound rude, but thats not a gun ship, pretty sure thats not even skimtari property

The minister: "Oh good god alright go call linguistic squad, lets hope they they aren't hostiles"

The guard salutes and quickly runs to the capital building to find a linguistic squad.

Balco

The majestic Asteria elegantly descended to a low altitude and then delicately landed on the ground. The aethermotive attracted a conspicuous crowd of onlookers amazed by that eccentric flying contraption, characterized by such an archaic but exotically refined morphology. From below, the airship was imposing, towering 45 meters (150 feet) up to the giant balloon. Indeed, that model of aethermotive had been purposely designed for long intercontinental cruising voyages and was vastly larger than the intranational versions.

All the passengers on board, about twenty-seven, gathered at the bow and looked around in astonishment, not failing to notice the curious crowd below. The Baroness summoned her cabinet of ambassadors and ordered the swabbers to lower the drawbridge on the port side, preparing to disembark escorted by some guards. The trierarch Rodion observed the scene from the top of the bridge and managed to see a team of individuals accompanied by a guard quickly make their way through the crowd and rush towards a female officer.

Drbeansguy

As the aethermotive descends to the ground the minister starts to push through the crowed, trying to keep the crowd from getting too lose to the landing site. The minister tries to keep the civilians at bay, and tires to keep the leader of the rage party from screaming at the aethermotive

The minister: "Im being serious i need you to come down faster please, elections are in half and hour"

Balco

While descending the drawbridge, Baroness Cesaria could not help but notice how that crowd of civilians, from a general astonishment, had degenerated into a shapeless mass of high-sounding threatening cries. Suddenly a sort of female officer emerged from the delirious crowd and exclaimed something in an unknown language, completely unintelligible and sickeningly convulsive, like the cries of wild beasts, like those of a nauseous muttering pig, and Cesaria, slowly getting closer towards that disgusting mass of bizarre beings, noticed a gruesome detail: those horrid figures were deformed beings with disfigured, pernicious, cadaverous faces, and they all sprayed a deadly stench, a mephitic reek so bad that it made an ambassador vomit.

The Baroness, extremely bewildered, stopped in the middle of the walkway and stared in horror at the female figure she assumed was a minister, feeling a strong disgust towards those putrid sentient carcasses, those foetid undead with questionable intellect. Those horrific necroids were so repulsive that they stirred up a pitiful, nauseating compassion in Cesaria's soul.

"And these are the Dze? What the hell is wrong with them? Am I dreaming or am I really witnessing these miasmatic cacodemons screaming like possessed corpses?" she thought.

The Baroness almost gagged at the sight of those self-propelled carrion, but she held back and advanced slowly to try to communicate with those horrific shapeless creatures.

"I really hope I don't die from the smell..." Cesaria thought just moments before falling to the floor in a faint.

Drbeansguy

The minister just stands there, and looks at the fainted women.

The minister speaking in ministry standard now: "Is she going to be ok, i dont mean to be rude but she looks deader than us"

The minister just stands there for a bit, then the linguistic squad comes running in. Then they find themselves shocked to find a human passed out on the floor. But never the less they try talk to the humans who are not currently on the ground.

linguistic squad member: "Greetings, welcome to Herwa and Clarecomere. Would you showing me some of your writing"

He gestures for the non passed out humans to show him some of their writing.

Balco

Cesaria was immediately rescued by the guards who, trying to avoid those sordid beings, carefully lifted and carried the body of the baroness back to the airship, making their way between the ambassadors on the drawbridge. The unconscious was carried to the medical room on the quarterdeck and, while Rodion rushed to the place to help the baroness, the other ambassadors stood bewildered on the ramp not only by the stench of those execrably repulsive creatures, but also by their harmlessly abominable appearance.

Soon enough a team of peculiar individuals arrived in a haste. Addressing the Khijovians, they uttered opprobriously incomprehensible verses, worthy of a were-pig, and performed abstruse and unintuitive gestures.

The lead ambassador of the Baroness's office, Tahno Cardimon, who happened to be the first in line on the drawbridge, was just a few steps away from those disgustingly bizarre individuals and thought in horror:

"What do these rancid masses of filth want? What does all this mean? Gestures?! They know how to gesticulate… I cannot believe it! These sentient piles of rotting flesh can express themselves through gestures..! But what… what do they mean? What do you want, obscene corpses?!"

In the end, pervaded by a sudden feeling of repulsive pity, he plucked up the courage and continued to approach those deformed necroid-like beings, trying to contain his retching given the tremendous rotten stench.

Tahno started speaking in Khijovian: "Sahvre, Bhaēotuu nešctuu, vīəbu dœməþ vınrar! Khıjœvïænuu səþþar."

The humanoid carrion remained dumbfounded, understanding absolutely nothing of what the foreigner was saying.

Drbeansguy

The minister: "Oh my good god they are idiots, cant even understand gestures. go get a map or something, maybe they will even understand basic navigation"

A linguistic squad member quickly runs to the capital building and grabs a map, quickly running back while pushing through astounded skimtari. Once he pushes through to the humans, he opens the map so everyone can see, then the minister aggressively points towards the human, then towards herwa.

The minister: "Get it, you are in Herwa, H E R W A. We are skimtari, can you speak ministry standard?"

She makes even more gestures trying to convey "do you speak ministry standard", it looks a little aggressive but it somewhat clear.

Balco

The female figure suddenly began waving her arms in an inhumanly creepy way and started uttering disgustingly unheard-of verses, feral slurs that resembled repugnant inarticulate barks. The foul creature was gesturing aggressively at the Khijovians like a reasonless beast trying to communicate God knows what. Then the alien handed the map to Tahno with its cadaverous arms.

"A… map? These sentient flesh bags have maps?" thought Tahno between a mixture of disgust and amazement.

The lead ambassador immediately called the cartographer on board who, having arrived on the scene, hesitated in bewilderment.

Vitren Savio: "A map.?!"

Tahno Cardimon: "I see you're capable of recognizing a map, cartographer. Take it, I think they want us to read it."

Vitren ignored Tahno's passive aggressive banter and grabbed the map.

Tahno Cardimon: "Boy, hand me your map. Thank you."

Tahno then pointed to Dzeia on the Prestorian map and said:

"Baētuu, vīəbar mıttə khværtaþ dīənaþ etınrramdĕ səþþar. Yvīə Đżəïæ səþþe?"

Drbeansguy

The minister: "What is this a poorly rendered map drawn by a skimtari falling into a vat of molten metal, this looks like childs play.

The minister takes a long look at the Prestorian map, then starts to laugh. She point to the dze horde on the skimtari map, then points to the horde on the Prestorian map. Then she points to the humans in a less aggressive way, then points to Herwa on the skimtari map.

The minister: "How do you mix north with south, the dze are north we are south. Was your map upside down or something, how can any species mess up this bad?

Balco

The horrid creature uttered further aberrant bestial nonsense, speaking that ignominious language in such a convinced manner as if the foreigners could understand it. She then began to gesticulate again in an inhumanly repugnant way, obsessively pointing with that abominable finger. Tahno looked away from that putrid beast of Satan and observed perplexed the map that the young Vitren was holding.

Tahno Cardimon: "…um? And so what? What do these vile necroid monsters mean?"

Vitren Savio: "…"

Tahno Cardimon: "My boy?"

The lead ambassador looked at the gesturing deformed creature again, and finally realized.

Tahno Cardimon: "…we're not in Dzeia, are we? Hm, cartographer?!"

He tried to contain his latent fury.

Vitren Savio winced and froze, turning completely pale.

Tahno Cardimon: "Tell me, how did we get to this disgustingly horrific place..?"

He put his hands on the young cartographer's shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes.

Vitren Savio: "…"

Tahno Cardimon: "Vitren Savio, on board aeronautical neo-cartographer…

GO, HANG YOURSELF! YOU IDLE SHALLOW THING! IDIOTIC IMBECILE, LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE NOW… ALL THANKS TO YOU AND THAT CURSED PRESTORIAN MAP OF YOURS!"

This sudden eruptive profluvium of fury startled even the hideous aliens, who stared in astonishment at the bizarre scene.

Drbeansguy

The minister just glances back at the linguistic squad, she gives them a very slight nod. Then they start to speak prestorian, he is horrible at speaking it.

Linguistic squad: "You prestorian speech?"

Balco

The lead ambassador stopped abruptly and pulled himself together after that outburst of fury, skeptically eyeing the horrific creatures and thinking:

"What, what? Am I dreaming or have they just spoken - even if in reality 'spoken' is not an adequate term, rather slurred in a convulsively terrifying manner - the Prestorian language? Ah, well!"

Tahno Cardimon cleared his throat and began speaking Prestorian like a native:

"Yes, we do speak the Prestorian language. We were supposed to land in Dzeia, but our cartographer here has messed up. We now ask you whether we can borrow your nautical chart for our voyage, as the Prestorian one we used appears to be very much outdated and higly unreliable."

Drbeansguy

The linguistic squad quickly translates it back to then the squad member relays it back to the ambassador.

Linguistic squad: "You come our land, you interrupt elections, you cause lady pass out, i also have a strange feeling you say incredibly offensive things. Then you want map, not going to happen"

Balco

Tahno Cardimon: "Please, we truly come in peace. Listen, things, it wasn't our intention to interrupt your elections. We'll leave as soon as you give us a nautical chart to Dzeia. Here, take this."

The lead ambassador reaches for his bag and hands a glowing gemstone unknown to the alien creatures:

"This is a very rare gem only found in our Homeland's mountain ranges. We gift it to you."

The gem was of a splendid bright color, characterized by a pleasant burgundy with sumptuous facets and a chromatic harmony found only in the High West.

Drbeansguy

The squad member translates it for the minister, then she just stares at them for a little bit. Then she takes a good look at the gemstone, somewhat unimpressed. Then she whispers something to the squad member.

Linguistic squad member: "She says she will give you map, however she wants you to stay here, enjoy the election festival. We want to make a better impression, and not have you think we are barley sentient flesh bags"

Then the minister just stares at them, waiting for their response.

Balco

Tahno Cardimon: "We deeply thank you, creatures. But here, I insist, take this gemstone as a sign of our gratitude. And yes, we will leave here a couple of our ambassadors to stay during your election festival. This means Khijovia officially opens diplomatic relations with your country."

The lead ambassador then extends his hand to shake hands with the minister.

Drbeansguy

Linguistic squad member: "We are called the skimtari humans, please never address us a "things" or "creatures" again."

After saying that he turns back to the minister and she whispers something back in his ear.

Linguistic squad member: "Alright we accept, but we dont want the gem. It looks too fancy for us "creatures" to accept"

Balco

Tahno Cardimon made a reverent nod in recognition and awkwardly withdrew his hand since the minister did not seem to know what a handshake was. He then called two unfortunate ambassadors instructing them to stay with the skimtaris for a few weeks and turned with a biting gaze towards the young cartographer, ordering him to report to the trierarch that they could leave again. He took back the precious gem a little offended in his pride by the refusal of such a gift and placed it in his purse.

Meanwhile, Rodion helped the Baroness to her feet after recovering from her fainting.

Cesaria Auguston: "Thanks, dear Rodion. Now, please tell me, was I dreaming?"

Rodion Korivia: "No, lady. You were fully conscious."

Cesaria Auguston: "Oh, I see… But tell me, are we still with those…things?"

Rodion Korivia: "Affirmative, lady. I believe sir Cardimon's currently speaking to the creatures, yes."

Cesaria Auguston: "Ah, Lord! Poor Tahno…"

The young Vitren then ran to the threshold of the infirmary room with an unusual map in his hand.

Vitren Savio: "Lady!"

The cartographer bowed in an awkwardly blatant manner and approached to kiss her right hand. The Baroness grimaced and withdrew her hand, giving him a playful look of bitter irony.

Vitren Savio: "Look, Rodion, look at this!"

The young cartographer showed the nautical map of the natives to the trierarch and brandished it in front of him strangely enthusiastic. Rodion looked in great perplexity at the map that his comrade was waving and graciously took it from him.

Vitren Savio: "The creatures gave it to me! There is an air route marked out for Dzeia… Amazing!"

Rodion Korivia: "What..? Is it possible? This map is far better than the Prestorian one!"

Vitren Savio: "Oh, yes! Anyway, sir Cardimon has given the order to leave. Let's get out of here..!"

Rodion smiled pleased and immediately went to the bridge, followed by the young Vitren. The Baroness, on the other hand, thanked the ship's doctor and left the infirmary room to go down to the deck. She was welcomed by the swabbers and then by the ambassadors who went up the drawbridge.

Tahno Cardimon: "Oh, Cesaria! How are you, my dear?"

Cesaria Auguston: "I'm fine now, my Tahno. Tell me, how was the interview with those beings? And how did you manage to convince them to give us a correct map to Dzeia?"

Tahno Cardimon: "Those beings are called skimtari, yes. You see, my lady, thanks to my diplomatic skills I was able to establish a formal relationship with them… by speaking Prestorian!"

Cesaria burst out laughing and hugged the lead ambassador. The Baroness then walked to the railing and looked out to observe the creatures below.

Cesaria Auguston: "Um… wait a moment. Tahno, am I wrong or are those Livetia and Grenio down there..?"

Tahno Cardimon: "My dear, yes they are. They will stay here for a while with the skimtari..."

The trierarch sounded the nautical trumpet, ordered the swabbers to withdraw the drawbridge, had the wing sails unfolded, set the blast furnace on fire and, slowly, the aethermotive balloon began to widen.